Uniper pens deal on Rotterdam green hydrogen plant

Uniper has signed an agreement with Rotterdam port authorities in the Netherlands on producing green hydrogen, the German energy company said on September 6.

The deal follows a recent feasibility study, Uniper said, which showed that its proposed project site in Maasvlakte was "ideally suitable for large-scale production of green hydrogen, with the use of power generated by North Sea wind farms."

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The plant would be connected to the HyTransport.RTM pipeline that Dutch transmission operator Gasunie is expected to build through the Rotterdam port area, to distribute green hydrogen to local industry. This pipeline is also set to be hooked up to national hydrogen infrastructure and the Delta Corridor system, enabling the supply of hydrogen to chemical clusters in Moerdijk and Geleen in the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.

Uniper is one of several companies looking to develop green hydrogen electrolysers in the Netherlands, to provide a cleaner alternative to grey hydrogen that the country currently uses, resulting in 19mn metric tons of annual CO₂ emissions. 40% of national hydrogen consumption is in the Rotterdam area.

The German company plans to commission a nine-month front-end engineering design study on the hydrogen plant, which would initially have a 100-MW capacity, potentially rising to 500 MW at a later point. It will also apply for permits, with the hope of taking a final investment decision net year.

“We have the strong ambition to convert our Maasvlakte location into a major link in the new European hydrogen value chain in close collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam Authority and other partners,” Axel Wietfeld, CEO of Uniper Hydrogen, said in a statement. “There is a host of opportunities, not only for Uniper but also for other players in the chain. Together we can use sustainable hydrogen to reduce CO₂ levels in Rotterdam significantly,” he said.